The contrast between the sharp and the blurred is often overlooked by still photographers as a creative tool, but it's often used very effectively by cinematographers.

An beauty glamour headshot image taken with this lens @ f9.0 in studio with a Nikon D90 along with some brief details are avail for view here: http://glamourphotography.co/?p=6588 Some may say f9.0 is not a fair test of a fast portrait lens....

Great Bokeh; Very Sharp; 77mm Pro Filters

Large Green Ghost images from highlights wide open; sometimes

Similar in size, features, and price (though not format) to Sigma's 30mm f/1.4 high-speed "normal" prime for DSLRs with APS-C sensors, this 50mm full-framer ($500, street) also belongs to Sigma's EX family of pro-quality glass.

. I truly enjoyed shooting with that lens and if I was in the market for an 85mm prime, Sigma would get my money. An 85mm lens is great for portraits but I, like many other people, find 50mm to be a more useful focal length for everyday shooting.

Now, with the advent of the APS-c cameras, the long popular 50mm focal length takes on double duty as a portrait length lens of approximately 90mm on most of the small chip cameras.

Unlike other full format 50mm f/1.4 lenses it features a massive front element (77mm filter thread) and it takes advantage of an aspherical element and both aspects are pretty unique design decisions for a 50mm f/1.4 lens.